Dearest Anna Lynn,
Oh, where does one begin, when one's heart is overflowing with emotions, spilling over with love, and bursting the floodgates with fuzzy feelings?
Give me a moment, and I will get myself together.
Our dear girl, how we love you! Here we were today, showering you with gifts, when we have been the ones who have received the greatest gift- the gift of being your parents.
Everyone says it, and it is no less true here. This year has flown by! I can scarcely believe it, and I have to look back at my old blog posts to see the proof myself. Didn't we bring you home from the hospital just last month? Surely it was! It couldn't possibly have been one year ago. I don't believe it for a second.
And yet, here you are. The newborn is gone, but in its place is a chubby toddler. No, you aren't walking, or anywhere close, but the experts say that once you reach a year, you are a toddler. I say "nonsense" to that for now. You are still my baby, and will be for a while.
Oh, darling girl, you are busy these days! You are crawling all over, and you are into everything. Caleb still gets mad when you get in his stuff, which is about ten times a day. You just learned how to use the little hammer toy this past week, and I was so proud of you as you studied me first doing it, and then you gave it a try for yourself, and successfully pounded the ball into the hole. You wave and point here and there, when you feel like it, and you love to turn through the pages of a book. At naptime, you almost put me to sleep, as I watch you over and over turn the pages, and nothing is more soothing to me than watching people (kids especially) turn through pages of a book, engrossed in the task. I have to rouse myself to properly put you down!
Speaking of naps, you are a stinky napper. I have tried and tried. Allowing you to cry-it-out, redoing the routine again after a short nap and putting you back down... it doesn't work. I have learned to let it go and be grateful for the sleep you do get. You sleep well overnight at least. You are down early, since you are a lousy napper, and for now your bedtime is around 5:30-5:45 depending. You sleep generally until 5 a.m., at which point I come in to nurse you, and depending on the day, sometimes put you down for more sleep. In that case, you usually sleep once again until 6-6:15. Then we start our day!
You enjoy being read to, and you love it when I point to the alphabet letters in a book and sing the song. I wouldn't be surprised if you know some of them by now. We spend our days playing together, and you can be sure Caleb is always ready to join us on the floor, and many times he sits with you when I am busy in the kitchen. You love it when we build towers that you can knock down, and you enjoy banging your mini cymbals together. Daddy can work with you on that and any other instrument you desire to learn when you are ready for more!
Kitty still makes you smile, though you have settled down a bit. Daddy swore he heard you say "kitty" one day, though I didn't hear it myself. You say a lot of "da da" but I haven't heard too much else yet.
I love to get your attention by singing one of my songs for you. You get all excited and your arms start waving and the bouncing begins as you wait for me to swoop you up. I thought Silas was a "mama's boy" and he was in every sense, but you are proving to be a "mama's girl" too. You keep me on a tight leash. You are always looking for me, crawling to me, demanding my attention, wanting to nurse, or just wanting my company. Sometimes, I sneak to the store when you are down for nap, and Daddy gets you when you wake up. He always reports you are disgruntled when you awake to find me not there. As soon as I appear, the desperate fuss begins, as if you are saying to me, "How dare you leave, and make sure you don't do that again!" Oh, dear girl, I am never gone too long, and my heart couldn't belong to you any more than it already does. You have nothing to fear.
My sweetheart girl, I rejoice in the gift that God gave us in you. We are so happy to have the daughter we waited for, for so long. You have given us joy right when we needed it. It isn't always an easy house to be in. Silas, your big brother whom you try to get to know, but stands aloof from you, is in the height of meltdowns, and the days are often hard. I pray this won't affect you negatively, but we have to leave that in God's hands for now. We have to trust that the God who gave us you, knowing our circumstances, will see us through.
I look forward to the next few months and watching you learn new skills! I can't wait for the spring and the park, the slides, and the swings. You are going to love it all, no doubt! In the next month or two, you'll be taking those first steps! When you are in my lap, you are trying to get on your feet, with your arms holding onto me for support. I'll be there for you, Anna Darling, when you need me to hold on as you gain your strength. And I'll be there, too, when you need me to let go. No matter what, I'll be cheering you on.
Anna Lynn, thank you for making our dreams come true! For years we wondered where you were, if we'd ever have you. Well, you're here now. Not late at all, but right on time, according to God's plan.
We love you! And we love the God who made you! We will teach you about Him too, my girl. Life is a gift that He gives, so let us give our lives back to Him.
Happy first birthday! We love you forever.
Love,
Mama and Daddy
Anna is wearing a felt crown that my sister mailed to us in time for her birthday, a hand-me-down and worn for years by nieces Emily and Lindsey on their birthdays. We are glad to continue the tradition! Still a little big, but she'll grow into it!
